


Sunset Season

by rooftopkisses



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Based on a Conan Gray Song, CW for Neil's dad and Riko and everything that might come with that, M/M, Private School, Underage warning is for both drinking and sex jsyk, andreil is endgame i can promise you that but it's going to take a bit to get there, but this is mostly happy times, look it's high school things are confusing. hence all the relationship tags XD, small town
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:42:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26806054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rooftopkisses/pseuds/rooftopkisses
Summary: Freshman year had come and gone in a blur. He felt like his life was flying by, and he wished it would go even fucking faster.Nothing ever happened in Mount Spring....In which Neil moves into the small town that the rest of the foxes live in, and soon they all find themselves attending the same boarding school.
Relationships: Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game), Jeremy Knox/Jean Moreau, Kevin Day/Aaron Minyard, Kevin Day/Neil Josten, Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Neil Josten/Jean Moreau, Nicky Hemmick/Erik Klose
Comments: 52
Kudos: 131





	1. The Other Side

**Author's Note:**

> this is such a bad idea to be posting.... a 20 chaptered fic with only 4 chapters written so far??? SURE ally post it. but listen im super sad i need some dopamine,, i need that serotonin,,, what other way to get that then have AO3 comment emails in my inbox XD
> 
> This chapter's just a quick Andrew introspective and hopefully gives you a ~vibe~ on the town  
> I reallllly hope you like it! :) Subscribe for more! i will try try try to write more frequently!!!
> 
> (oh also this isn't beta'd and it really should be so i do apologize for that)

It wasn’t unlike Andrew to find himself in the neighborhood near his school; the one with the three story houses and bright green lawns. 

He often drove through these streets late at night, looking at the perfect houses with the perfect nuclear families inside, wondering _What If._

But tonight, he hadn’t meant to end up here. It was prom night. Andrew had left early. 

Allison had just been announced queen, and to everyone’s shock, it wasn’t her boyfriend, Seth, that had been announced king—but _Renee._ Very progressive for their small town, Andrew had to admit, but clearly neither Allison or Seth were very happy about it. Amidst all the ruckus, Andrew had stepped out—handing Aaron the keys to his car so he could get him and his date, Katelyn, home safely. Andrew was going to walk.

And that’s what he’d meant to do, honestly. He’d meant to walk South, towards his two-bedroom home that housed three people. _The one on 8th Street with a broken garage door and an abusive drug-addicted mother?_ Yeah, that’s the one.

Andrew scoffed and kicked a stray pebble. 

He was on Cornelius Street, _again._

Cornelius Street was one of many roads on the North, aka _rich,_ side of his humble little town. This road was the one he tended to find himself driving down the most, because of one particular house.

When his eyes caught on the tall white pillars and matching white picket fence, he always had trouble tearing himself away. The house was a reminder of everything Andrew didn’t have. 

He longed for parents who went to school functions and made freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and didn’t spend all their money on drugs—who had enough money to get him and Aaron through college. 

He didn’t want or need or hope, but he did wish for an alternate reality where he had someone who would care for him and Aaron and stop them from going down a path of destruction, rather than encourage it.

The perfectly trimmed hedges and rose bushes always calmed Andrew. There was no chaos here, everything was precisely how the owner wanted it to be. There was an element of control that reminded Andrew that someday soon he’d be able to control his own life too.

Until then, there was still one thing he could do to himself that was under his control.

There had been a For Sale sign in front of this house for months, but it was gone now.

He forced himself to look away. He didn’t want the new owners to see him and think he was going to cause any trouble. He’d get enough shit from Tilda for coming home so late tonight.

Just like that prom night had come and gone, although Andrew still wore the reminder in a tie around his neck. 

Prom was the last big event of the school year. A couple more weeks and Andrew would no longer be a freshman. 

There wasn’t anything remarkable to report from his first year in high school. He’d passed with all A’s. Classes weren’t hard when you had an eidetic memory and a twin brother who was obsessed with school and did all the partner projects for them both. 

Still, freshman year had come and gone in a blur. He felt like his life was flying by, and he wished it would go even _fucking faster._

Nothing ever happened in Mount Spring. 

The things Andrew could create in his head when he closed his eyes at night was worse than anything he ever saw on the news.

Andrew's life was a mundane cycle. He spent his classes staring at the clock just trying to pass the time, willing the school day to be over, only to go home and wish he was back at school. 

He looked down at the pavement beneath his feet. His shoes shined a distorted version of his reflection back at him. On the sidewalk, chalk drawings of smiley faces and rainbows told memories of happy kids and happy lives. The drawings were hard to see in the black of the night, but a big red heart was clearly illuminated by a street light. Next to it were the words “I love you, goodbye.”

He closed his eyes. He was so goddamn tired. When he made it home tonight he vowed to start planning a way out for him and his brother. He would make it to the other side, to the place with carefree dreams and wide smiles, even if he had to die trying.


	2. Idle Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil reconnects with an old friend and meets the residents of Mount Spring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are happening!!! (kevineil childhood friends/lovers??? ANYONE???!!!)
> 
> i'm about a third of the way through chapter 5, which i'm quite happy about. i wanted to post this fic to give me the motivation to keep writing for it and so far it's worked!
> 
> that's thanks to you guys and your support so please leave a comment if you enjoyed!

Mount Spring was an interesting place, to say the least.

His father’s employers had moved him to South Carolina, but his parents were the ones that specifically chose to settle down in Mount Spring—the thought being that a small town wouldn’t draw much attention and would help keep them under the radar, away from prying eyes and people who asked too many questions.

Neil did his research before coming here, of course. Mount Spring only had one highschool for the entirety of its teenage residents, and the school was only a short drive from Neil’s new neighborhood. In a couple of months Neil would enroll at MSHS, and meet the one hundred and fifty or so other kids in his class. 

But he was getting ahead of himself. He had to survive the summer first.

Three months trapped in a house with his mother and father. This did not bode well.

He was grateful his mom had allowed him to get a bike, at least. It was a cheap hand-me-down from some kid who was going off to college for early admission and wouldn’t need it anymore “in the big city”, but still. 

Mary Wesninski could easily play the role of housewife or perfect mother when the situation called for it, and she had sweet-talked the kid’s ear off and gotten the bike for free.

Neil had already memorized the town's layout, so maybe he could escape the house for a couple hours each day and ride his bike to the local pool or go get ice cream or something. 

He could try to be a normal teenager for once. 

Maybe he could even get away with having a friend or two—he _was_ getting better at hiding things from his parents, and he was becoming a master manipulator in order to get out of heavy handed punishments from Mary. His father wasn’t so easily persuaded. _Yet._

\------

“Nicky, seriously, move your ass. I am _not_ getting grass stains on these jeans—you’re hogging the blanket!”

“Jesus Kevin, I’m moving, I’m moving. Maybe you should get the stick out of _your_ ass.”

A chorus of laughs sounded from their group. 

Everyone was here tonight: Renee, Dan, Allison, Matt, Seth. Andrew didn’t know how his family of three had turned into four, or how he managed to find himself in a group of nine some days.

Most of them he wouldn’t consider friends, let alone family, but they were all here tonight—on the hill that doubled as stands for the football stadium—drinking beer and watching the sunset, and Andrew wasn’t complaining. 

“Look at all the stars, it’s so beautiful,” Matt remarked. 

He was lying on his back on a blanket with Dan. Allison and Seth were in pretty much the same position on another blanket next to theirs, one in far better shape and twice the size.

Andrew sat at the top of the hill, arms crossed over his legs. He looked up. 

“That’s the perk of a small town: no light pollution,” Aaron said.

He was sitting to Andrew’s right; Kevin to the right of him.

It was Aaron who had approached Andrew just a month into the school year and suggested Kevin join their lunch table. The two shared a literature class together. Aaron’s favorite subject was science, and Kevin was a major history nerd, so the two bonded over their shared apathy for Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. 

Although Andrew _knew_ that Aaron had a soft spot for Shakespeare. 

“I _wish_ this town had light pollution,” Allison said snidely.

Dan snorted. “Alli, that’s such a weird thing to say.”

“What? You know I detest this place, with its 4G data and unmarked dirt roads. I’m getting out of here the first chance I get.

“No offence,” she belatedly added, looking around at the group.

Kevin took another swig of his drink.

Nicky picked dandelions out of the grass.

The whir of an airplane broke the group's contemplation and the quiet summer night. 

Andrew watched as it flew overhead.

Matt grabbed another Miller out of his drawstring. “Renee, you sure you don’t want one?” he asked.

“No thanks,” Renee smiled, running her hands through the grass, “I can feel it all.”

The crickets chirped, the air stood still.

“I’ll cheers to that,” Seth said, raising his bottle.

“Dan?” Renee asked, “Are you crying?”

Andrew heard Dan sniffle. She sat up. 

“It’s just…” she began.

Matt sat up too, putting a hand on her back.

“I’ve been thinking about the future,” she said. “My only way out of here is to get into a good college. And my only way to do _that_ —well, my best chance at it—is to come from a good high school with great grades.”

She looked around, but no one else spoke; the entire group, sans Andrew, staring at her.

“We all know Mount Spring High isn’t exactly ivy league material. My best chance is the private school in Palmetto.”

“What?!” Allison shrieked. 

“Babe?” Matt asked, “What are you talking about?”

“How would you even afford that?” Allison asked.

Dan shot her a look. Renee too.

“Sorry,” Allison sighed, “I didn’t mean it rudely. But come on, the tuition for that place is a small fortune in itself.”

“I could get a job,” Dan indignantly replied, “pay my way through. Look, it’s not anything official, but summer will be over in just a few months and junior year will start and that’s the most important year for college admission!”

“So you’re thinking about leaving us.” Nicky crossed his arms across his chest.

“It’s not like I want to leave, everybody I love’s in this place! It just might be what’s best for me.”

Andrew really hoped a fight didn’t break out. They were ruining the cultivated atmosphere. Regardless, this seemed like a fight between the upper classroom. Aaron and Kevin hadn’t said a word.

He tuned them out and continued staring at the street on the other side of the hill; at the interstate signs pointing toward the coast, begging it’s own residents to leave this place. 

People came and went, sure, but this town always stayed the same. 

Suddenly, Andrew noticed a kid biking down the street. He wasn’t even looking at the road, his eyes were cast up toward the sky, entranced by the stars like everyone else.

He kept biking, getting closer and closer to the stadium. It was past midnight, _didn’t he have a curfew?_

 _Ha!_ Okay, maybe that was a little hypocritical, considering him and his group were out at this hour too.

The kid had stopped. His hands gripped the fence. “Hey!” He shouted. What the hell? He hopped the fence. _What the hell?_

“Hey!” he yelled again.

The upperclassmen had all turned to stare at the kid, Dan’s potential departure forgotten.

“Kevin?!” the kid was running towards them now, fullspeed.

Kevin stood up.

Andrew just sat there and watched, like the rest of them.

The boy was suddenly right in front of Kevin.

“Kevin Day,” he said incredulously. 

“Oh my god, Nathaniel?” Kevin asked.

The kid didn’t answer, he just pulled Kevin into a hug.

His head was buried in Kevin’s shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around Kevin’s neck.

Kevin quickly wrapped his arms around Neil’s lower back in return.

After a few moments Nicky wolf whistled, breaking the silence. Nobody knew what was going on, but they still chuckled lightly. 

Then more time passed, and they started looking around at each other, expressions saying _What the fuck?_ as the hug continued on for, like, minutes.

They weren’t moving. Kevin’s eyes were still closed. Andrew was bored.

He was about to intervene, when the kid finally pulled back.

“It’s Neil now, actually. Nathaniel had way too many letters and far too many of the letters were in my father’s name. So I shortened it,” he smiled.

The middle of the night made it hard to see anything that wasn’t directly in front of you—the lights from the stadium went out long ago—but now that Neil was close enough, Andrew could see his red hair and lean body. 

Closer inspection showed he had bright blue eyes and small scars on his hands.

“How are you even here?” Neil asked.

Kevin had been stunned into silence before—and Andrew knew first hand how hard it was to shut Kevin up—but he finally seemed to come back to reality now, looking at Neil with something akin to sorrow. “My dad, he lives here. I moved here shortly after you left, after my mom…”

“Shit. I heard about that. I’m so sorry Kevin, I never got to say goodbye, and your mom… she was incredible.” Neil held on to Kevin’s hand. “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay, it was a long time ago. I- I never thought I’d see you again.”

Andrew looked around. The group was just watching, listening in on the pair’s conversation and waiting to see what would happen next.

Fine. If nobody else was going to ask who this kid was, Andrew would have to do it. He spoke for the first time that night.

“Is anyone going to tell me what the fuck is going on here,” he said, “anyone” clearly meaning Kevin.

“Guys, this is Neil.” He laughed. “Fuck!” he yelled, “Neil _fucking_ Wesninski everybody.” He gave the kid a playful shove. 

The atmosphere was truly changed now. The peaceful night, with no purpose but to sit and wait for sunrise, was over.

“I knew Kevin back in West Virginia,” Neil explained. “We used to have sleepovers at his house like, all the time. I knew him for a couple of years before my parents moved again.”

Kevin nodded. “We met in fifth grade, then we both moved away the summer after seventh.” He turned to Neil, “I came straight here, but I didn’t meet these guys until high school.” 

He introduced Neil to everybody. Andrew always thought it was amusing how couples got introduced together, like, “Neil, this is Aaron, Andrew, Nicky, _MattandDan_ , _SethandAllison_ , and Renee.

Neil waved.

“So, you’re new to town?” Nicky asked.

Neil nodded.

“I could, you know, show you around.” Nicky offered, wiggling his eyebrows.

The group groaned collectively.

“Seriously Nicky?” Aaron asked.

“What?” Nicky said, like he really didn’t have any idea what he was doing.

“You’ve known the guy for ten minutes and you’re already hitting on him.”

Andrew noticed Neil look at Kevin questioningly, almost as if he couldn’t believe anyone would be interested in him.

“I’m with Nicky on this one,” Allison said, “If I wasn’t dating Seth I’d be all over that.”

“Hey!” Seth exclaimed.

“Jesus, Alli.” Dan muttered.

“He’s not interested.” Kevin stated. Now _that_ was interesting. Why was Kevin acting so protective? Who was this kid, really?

“Neil,” Renee said, “would you like to join us?”

“We have drinks,” Mat grinned, holding up his drawstring bag.

“No, I can’t drink.” _Can’t,_ not _don’t, _Andrew noted.__

__“Besides,” Neil said, “I better go. It’s getting late and if my dad smells any alcohol on me I’ll be in trouble.”_ _

__Kevin grimaced, then paused. “Wait, how is it you’re even out right now?”_ _

__Neil started walking backwards. “The key, Kevin my dear, is to not let them know you left in the first place.” Neil said. He saluted the group, then turned around, walked back down the hill, and disappeared into the night on his bike._ _


	3. Grow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The foxes are all headed to the same boarding school, and they get together for another night out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guuys!!! thank you for reading, thank you for subscribing, thank you for commenting!!!! you guys are so nice :D
> 
> have i mentioned this fic is super self indulgent?????? please expect random scenes mashed together to fit the conan gray song of the chapter and not a lot of cohesive plot 😂 i mean there's technically plot at the beginning of this chap, but then i wrote another drunk foxes scene and things got out of hand hahaha
> 
> also....... it's officially time to start suspending some disbelief. Yes, it's obviously very coincidental that all of the foxes are transferring to a new school. And some of the reasoning is very much a stretch and I'm pretty sure no judge would EVER make the call I wrote rather than having the twins go into the foster care. lol. Please just go with me and ignore all inaccuracies 😂
> 
> oh yeah, one more thing, sorry lol i can't help but preemptively explaining myself.. so, i live in the US, i know the drinking age is 21, but it SHOULD be 18, annnd all the people in this fic are highschool aged (15-18) so it works for plot if one of them is of legal age lol. ok thanks
> 
> and don't forget this isn't beta'd because um.... yeah lol

**May**

Dan had officially submitted her application to Palmetto Boarding School. Who even knew you had to apply to go to a fancy-shmance high school?

She'd gotten a job just a week after the night she told her friends her plan to leave. Even if she didn’t get accepted to the school, she no doubt could use the money.

Dan currently lived in a trailer park with her Grandma, seeing as her parents weren’t in the picture. 

Wait— Just to be clear, they’re _alive,_ they’d just ditched most of the parenting responsibilities onto Grandma Genene when Dan was growing up, and now that Dan could take care of herself they weren’t around much anymore.

Her friend from school, Daria, had a few new openings at her job and suggested Dan stop by one afternoon. So, she went.

Daria drove, Dan plugged in her iPhone and played “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo.

They drove to the outskirts of town, toward the highway that connected to a busier city West of Mount Spring.

Dan reached up and turned down the music. “Wait, you work at a strip club?” she asked, as they pulled in and Dan saw the large neon sign.

“Just _trust_ me.” Daria turned the car key and the ignition shut off. “You’ll love it, come check it out.” 

The driver-side door slammed shut as Daria got out of the car.

_Shit._ After a moment's hesitation, Dan unbuckled her seatbelt and followed Daria inside. 

At the end of Dan’s first week she had $900 in her pocket and three new girls she considered family.

Three more people she would have to leave behind this fall. _Shit._

**June**

Nicky was in his room, dancing along to the radio as he folded stray laundry and tried to make the space a little more presentable.

He gathered a load of laundry in his hands, and turned around to walk back towards his bed when he suddenly yelped and dropped his clothes. 

His dad was standing at his door. Nicky hadn’t heard him knock.

Wait, knowing his dad, he probably _hadn’t_ knocked.

“Nicholas,” his dad said.

“Yeah Dad?”

“Have you given any further thought to what we talked about?”

“Huh?” Nicky asked, reaching down and grabbing a shirt that said “Free Shrugs”.

His stomach dropped when it clicked. 

“You can’t be serious,” he said, looking up at his father, with his crossed arms and his hard stare. 

“I already took Melody to prom Dad, I can’t- you expect me to do that forever? I can’t lie like that forever.”

“I see. So you’ve made your choice. Your teacher called here yesterday.”

It seemed like an abrupt change in topic, but Nicky knew exactly what he was getting at.

“Ms. Lee? Did she mention- I mean um, what did she have to say?”

_“She_ thought you might be in need of a semester abroad. I asked her why, but she was hesitant to say. It does not do good to lie in the face of the lord, Nicholas. I helped her see that, and got the information out of her. She said she thought you might be depressed and in need of a change of scenery.”

Nicky really needed to tread carefully here if this was going to work out the way he wanted. “And you? What did you think?”

“Well, I agreed. A change of scenery might do you good.”

“Really?” Nicky asked hopefully.

“Yes. But not Germany, no. Too many variables. I was thinking of church camp at first, but that would only be a month or so, not enough time. I’m enrolling you at Palmetto Boarding School next semester. Some structure might do you good, Nicholas. It’s not too late to turn things around.

Nicky’s heart dropped. “You’re sending me away?” he choked out. His dad hated when he cried, but he couldn’t stop the tears from forming. “You- you can’t do that.”

“Yes, I most certainly can. Your mother agrees it’s what’s best. You will move in in September and finish your high school education there.”

Luther Hemick did not console his crying son. 

Instead, he left the room, after a quick “Dinner will be ready in half an hour,” not even bothering to shut the door on his way out.

Nicky kicked it closed as hard as he could. “FUCK!” he screamed. He shoved the laundry off his bed. He kicked the roly desk-chair into his dresser.

His mom came in to check on him when dinner was ready. 

He’d accidentally skipped dinner that night, as he had fallen asleep crying, his head face first in his pillow.

**July**

“Happy birthday, Pumpkin.”

“Daddy! You shouldn’t have!”

Allison reached up on her tip-toes and kissed her father on the cheek. 

She turned sixteen today, and when she woke up there was a shiny red Porsche sitting in their driveway. 

“Go on, take it for a spin.”

Allison grinned.

She headed straight for the highway. Windows down, music blaring. She wanted to leave and never come back; wanted to head straight for New York City. 

It’s where she belonged, truly. This car was just one step closer to getting out of this town and heading towards her life-goals.

“So, how was it?”

“It drove like a dream, Daddy! It’s perfect.”

“Glad to hear it. It’s just the right vehicle to get you to and from the office.”

“You still want me to do the internship?” Allison asked, putting a hand on her hip. “I’ve told you, I have no intentions of following the family business. I want to be a fashion designer.

“Come on Daddy, we talked about this.”

Mr. Reynolds stood poised like a tree. “You’re a kid right now, Pumpkin, your dreams will change. This internship will show you how great our company is, and by the end of it you’ll have a well paying part-time job.”

Allison didn’t say anything, she just got back in the car and reversed out of the driveway. She glanced over at the flatscreen and found that the bluetooth feature was already synced to her phone. She hit a couple buttons, and soon it read “Calling: Dan”.

“Alli? What’s up?”

“I’m coming over.”

Allison Reynolds had no intention of slowly working her way up a company she didn’t even care about, just so her father could keep things “in the family” when he retired. 

It was time for a famous Reynolds’ scheme.

“Ok,” Dan said, looking at her laptop screen, “the application’s all filled out. You sure you want to do this?”

“I’m sure. I have enough money in my bank account to pay for all four semesters. My parents can’t stop me from going, and I _need_ to get out of that house. It’s _suffocating,_ Dan. I need my freedom.”

Dan actually looked impressed. “Alright, well, you should hear back soon. I got my acceptance letter in the mail after just a couple of weeks.”

“You and me baby, we’re gonna own that school.”

The two girls grinned at each other. 

***

Kevin had missed this. Kevin had really _really_ missed this. Neil was at his house, the two of them were in the backyard. 

Neil had finally met Kevin’s dad after all these years, and Wymack had taken Neil in as a son of his own—just like Kevin knew he would. Neil came here whenever he could, after an incident with his own father. Wymack, and his girlfriend, Abby, helped take care of him and promised to never say a word.

“Higher!” Neil said. He was swinging on the old set in the backyard, Kevin at his back pushing him. 

“Dude, I can see the school from here!” Neil yelled.

Kevin rolled his eyes. “You _cannot.”_

“Hang on, I’m gonna jump!”

“What- Neil you can’t! You’ll hurt yourself!”

It was too late. Kevin watched as Neil let go of the rope and went flying through the air in a beautiful ark. He landed on the other side of the yard, feet first, crouched down with one hand on the ground for balance. He turned around, and grinned wildly at Kevin.

That fucking smile. Kevin gave a toothless smile back, softly shaking his head.

“See,” Neil said as he walked back, “not even a scratch!”

“You have grass stains on the cuffs of your jeans,” Kevin pointed out.

Neil huffed. “Whatever.”

He got back on the swing. Kevin sat down on the swing next to him.

“Why does your dad even have this thing?” Neil asked.

“He fostered a few kids before he found out about me. They were all younger. There are still some left over toys in the garage too, scooters and shit.”

“Scooters are fucking awesome. You could ride along with me on my bike.”

“No, I have a bike.” Kevin said.

“Really? Why haven’t we been biking around together then?”

“I dunno,” Kevin said.

“Eh, I guess I haven’t been biking that much lately myself. Allison’s got a sick ride, and Matt’s got a pretty sweet pick-up truck too.”

“You’ve really been hanging out with them a lot.” Kevin wasn’t _jealous_ or anything. He’d been hanging out with Andrew and Aaron this summer without even properly introducing Neil to them. Andrew didn’t take kindly to strangers and he had a feeling Aaron and Neil wouldn’t get along. He was trying to keep his two worlds separate for as long as possible.

Neil shrugged. He swung back and forth lazily.

“I missed you.” Kevin found himself saying. 

“I missed this,” he said.

Neil smiled. “Can I tell you a secret?”

He leaned in and whispered—directly into Kevin’s ear—“I missed you, too.”

Neil moved back, just slightly, and Kevin found himself face to face with Neil—looking directly into the eyes of _Nathaniel Wesninski._ Kevin’s first friend, Kevin’s first crush; the boy who had defended him from bullies and told him he was worth more than what the ‘popular’ kids said about him. 

Kevin tilted his head, and leaned in.

Neil kissed exactly like Kevin remembered. Slow and uncertain, but with a smile on his face and an undeniable _want._

They kissed, and kissed a little bit more, and then Kevin’s phone rang.

Neil pulled back. Kevin wanted him to stay.

He grabbed his phone from his back pocket. It was Andrew.

“Yeah?” Kevin asked.

“Tilda is dead.” Andrew said. Kevin didn’t detect any emotion in his voice, just the factual monotone Andrew always spoke in.

“Shit- fuck-” Kevin stood up and gestured for Neil to come with him. “What happened? How’s Aaron holding up? We’re—me and Neil—we’re on our way.”

“We just got back from the hospital. Aaron’s in his room. I _would_ say there’s no reason for you to come over, but, Aaron seems upset, and he won’t talk to me, so... fix him.” 

Andrew hung up.

Kevin yelled for Wymack and frantically asked if he could drive them over to Andrew’s house. 

Once in the car, Neil asked what happened. Kevin began to explain—knowing Wymack was listening from the front seat too.

“The twins- you remember Andrew and Aaron?”

Neil nodded.

“Their mom just died.”

Kevin heard his dad curse under his breath.

“Fuck.” Neil said. “Was she like your mom, or was she like my mom?”

Unfortunately, he was completely serious. And _more_ unfortunately, he was right to ask. “Like your mom,” Kevin muttered.

“Oh,” Neil said, “not a _total_ loss then.”

Kevin glanced up and saw Wymack’s taken aback expression.

“Although, I’d still be pretty sad if my mom died.”

Kevin huffed. “Andrew might actually find you O.K with an attitude like that. Aaron… their relationship was more complicated. Don’t say anything stupid, alright?”

“No promises,” Neil said.

They were silent for the rest of the drive. They didn’t talk about the kiss.

They pulled into the Minyard’s driveway and the two boys headed into the house (Wymack staying in the car).

Kevin beelined straight to Aaron’s room, telling Neil to sit on the couch or something.

***

Or _something._ Approaching a smoking Andrew on the back porch was something, right?

***

Andrew was on his third cigarette when the back door opened.

“How did your mom die?” Neil asked, skipping right past the pleasantries. 

“And who’s asking,” Andrew said, turning his head and blowing out smoke directly in Neil’s face.

“So dramatic,” Neil teased.

“I know you remember me,” he said.

“Nathaniel, was it?” Andrew drawled, looking out at his backyard that was more dirt than grass. There was a cracked clay pot filled with dried-up soil that Tilda had said she would fill with flowers back in the spring, but never did. And now she never would. Just another empty promise to add to the list.

“Neil,” he corrected. “Didn’t Allison tell me you had an eidetic memory?”

“Allison needs to mind her own business.”

“Hey! She’s not so bad. She’s the reason my,” he gestured up and down at his clothes, then made quotations with his fingers, “‘fashion’ has improved. 

“She told me to make sure to mention to everyone that she was responsible, that she ‘deserved credit’.”

Andrew scowled. He really did not want to have a conversation with Neil about how good he looked in his eighty-degree weather outfit; short, gray cotton drawstring shorts and a yellow fitted t-shirt. He changed the subject by answering Neil’s earlier question.

“She overdosed. It was a long time coming.”

Neil hummed. “Kevin’s, um, consoling? Aaron.” 

“Haven’t seen much of Kevin this summer,” Andrew said, “heard he’s been hanging out with you.”

“Kevin and I... we’re nostalgia bound,” Neil said, plucking Andrew’s cigarette for himself.

“What are you two going to do since neither of you are eighteen? Move in with Nicky’s family?”

Andrew snorted. “Yeah, right.” 

Andrew pulled another cigarette out from the pack in his back pocket and lit up. He exhaled. “We have a meeting with a judge next week, they have the ultimate call, but I’d rather be dead then in that house.”

“What about Wymack?” Neil asked.

Andrew stared at him. “What did I just say.”

Neil hummed. 

The screen door slid open, and Kevin walked out. 

“I think Aaron’s going to stay at mine tonight. You can come too, Andrew.”

“No thanks,” Andrew said flippantly.

“Ok, well. Text me if you need too. We’ll leave in ten, Neil.”

Kevin pushed the door closed.

“You have a phone?” Neil asked.

“Of course I have a phone.”

“Let me see then,” Neil held his hand out.

After a moment, Andrew did indeed pull his phone out, and he dropped it into Neil’s waiting hand, avoiding any sort of contact.

Nei put his number in and handed it back. 

“See you around?” Neil asked.

“Not if I’m lucky,” Andrew said.

Neil let out a single “Ha!” and left the same way he came.

***

_Andrew Joseph Minyard and Aaron Micheal Minyard, age 15, find themselves in the South Carolina 9th district court today facing a battle of custody. Both parental guardians are unavailable at the time of this trial. Tilda Minyard deceased July 23rd. Jacob Minyard unable to be contacted. In the case of Andrew and Aaron Minyard vs. The State, I, Judge Mira Presley, appoint both Andrew Joseph Minyard and Aaron Micheal Minyard to be educated by Palmetto Boarding School effective immediately. They will reside in Palmetto in the school's dorms until turning the legal age of 18. Palmetto Boarding School will act as their legal guardian until turning the legal age of 18. Case dismissed._

Andrew was wearing his suit from prom again. He should have burned it when he had the chance. He could still burn it before Tilda’s funeral, he supposed.

Andrew didn’t fight the judge’s decision. In fact, he didn’t really care. It was just another adult telling him where to go and what to do.

It was just highschool. He had spent a year at Mount Spring, he’d spend three at Palmetto. 

Once again Aaron seemed upset and Andrew really couldn’t fathom why. Maybe it was because he had to leave Katelyn behind.

Andrew didn’t really care for the cheerleader.

And he, personally, didn’t have anyone he was leaving behind. Although he would be taking both Aaron and Nicky with him.

**August**

Matt was getting worse. Randy could see the light in his eyes slowly dwindling as the weeks went by.

She didn’t know where she had gone wrong with her son. She had tried her damn hardest to raise him right, and she had no idea why he had gone down such a rotten path. 

Matt had tried to hide it all when it first began, but Randy noticed the changes in her son and sat him down to find out what was going on.

It was just adderall at first, prescribed to him by his doctor to combat his ADHD. But the prescriptions were running out quicker than they should. Matt started taking a pill for everything; he had to juggle his classes and homework and football practice and having a girlfriend and hanging out with friends.

From there it was party drugs. Alcohol and weed, which arguably aren’t so bad, but they are when you aren’t thinking about the consequences and mixing substances that shouldn’t be mixed.

Randy didn’t know where he had gotten the xanax, but that came next, just before the crack-cocaine.

She didn’t know what to do, or how to help him. No one she knew had ever gone through something like this before. She was starting to think she didn’t know what was best for her son.

They would sit down and talk about where to go from here together. She would do whatever it took to get him clean.

She knew Matt hated what was happening to him; he just couldn’t stop himself at this point. Hopefully he had an idea on what to do.

***

It had been absolute _hell_ getting Aaron sober. The house still smelled of puke. 

Aaron wasn’t the least bit grateful, but what did Andrew care; the deed was done, his promise was fulfilled.

Aaron had quickly turned to alcohol after the last of the pills had run out. He’d upgraded from beer to bottles of vodka.

But the alcohol was slowly running out too.

Neil, Kevin, and Nicky were all gathered at the Minyard’s home. His family of four had reluctantly turned into five. Neil was an annoyance that reminded Andrew of things he couldn’t have, but Kevin and Nicky loved him and Aaron tolerated him, and even Andrew had to admit there was something interesting about him. His mouthy quips and lack of social edicate could be somewhat amusing.

“Let’s get drunk tonight,” Aaron said.

“We don’t have any money,” Kevin pointed out.

“And I don’t turn eighteen until _next_ summer,” Nicky said, slumping into the armchair. “I curse having a late birthday.”

He perked up almost immediately. “Neeeil,” he sang, “that’s a whole year for us to get together before it turns creepy.”

“It already is creepy,” Aaron muttered.

“Nicky,” Andrew warned, “what did we talk about.”

Nicky signed. “No hitting on the fresh meat.”

“I can get us some money,” Neil said.

Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“My dad, uh, he’s kind of rich. And he’s bad with money so he won’t notice it’s gone. Besides, we only need like fifty dollars or so right?”

“Right!” Nicky said.

“But we still don’t have a way to _get_ the alcohol.” Kevin said.

“Why not ask Seth? He’s eighteen.” Neil questioned.

An awkward silence rained down on the self-proclaimed ‘monsters’ as everyone not-so-subtly looked at Andrew.

“What, you don’t like him?” Neil asked Andrew.

Nicky answered for him. “It’s not that—Well, I mean, Seth _is_ pretty homophobic at times, I don’t like him very much myself—but, our two groups only get together _sometimes,_ and that’s when _they_ ask _us_ to hang out, not the other way around. Randomly inviting just Seth to hang with us is unheard off.”

“Okay? Then, why not invite everybody? Allison will pay for the upperclassmen’s drinks.”

Eyes went back and forth between Neil and Andrew. It didn’t take long for Neil to realize that ultimately it was Andrew’s call.

“Andrew? What do you think?” Neil asked.

“They can come.”

Aaron looked on in disbelief.

Nicky cheered, fist pumping the air.

Kevin didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

“If-” Andrew continued, and pointed at Neil. “If _you_ drink tonight.”

“Fine.” Neil said, rising to the challenge.

“I’ll call Alli on the bike ride back to my parents. Meet you at The Corner Store in an hour.”

Tonight would be interesting. And at the very least, Andrew would get an expensive bottle of whiskey paid for by the asshole Andrew suspected was responsible for the (now faded) marks that littered Neil’s arms.

***

Neil snuck back into his bedroom through the window that led onto the roof. He left his bedroom, went down the stairs. and nonchalantly waltzed into the living room.

“Hey, Ma,” Neil said softly, “how’s it going?”

His mom was watching tv. She had become worse and worse these past few months, almost catatonic. 

It meant she wasn’t as overbearing, and Neil got less punishments as a result, but it was still really sad to see her like this.

Neil sat down on the couch and reached for his mom’s cold hand.

She looked at him, slowly pulled back her hand, and moved to rest it gently against his face. “Abram,” she said.

Neil exhaled slowly.

Just then, he heard the front door open.

He jumped up and shot his head towards the door.

“Why is he home early?” he hissed.

His mother just closed her eyes, shook her head, and shrugged.

She looked sad.

It was too bad her remorse wouldn’t do shit for Neil.

He was fucked. 

He didn’t have any time to run up to his room. He was frozen like a deer in headlights as his father slammed the door closed.

That wasn’t a good sign as to what was to come.

“Mary, you would not believe what these fuckers tried to pull.” He actually stopped short when he saw Neil, surprised he was in the living room.

“Did you finish your chores?” he demanded.

“Yes Sir,” Neil said, “All the boxes from the move have been unpacked. I dusted and cleaned the garage.”

“Hm. Let’s have a look then.”

When Neil didn’t move, Nathan grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the garage.

The previous owners had cleaned out the kid’s toys and auto parts, but they hadn’t taken the time to clean years worth of dust and grime. It had taken Neil an entire day to clean it all. He’d blackened several rags and sweat right through the shirt he was wearing.

His father glared at him. _Not impressed with his work then? But it was spotless!_ “Did you not just tell me all the boxes were unpacked?”

Neil looked around at the cardboard boxes littering the garage; full of rope and dumbells and cleaning supplies. “I mean- all- all the boxes in the house- you only said to clean out here-” his father took a step closer. “I can do it tomorrow, easy, Dad-” Neil took a step back.

“It should have been done already.” Nathan gripped Neil’s arms and held him in place as he raised his fist and landed one right on Neil’s left cheek.

Neil didn’t scream. He didn’t make a noise.

He spit out blood onto the floor.

His father punched him again, in the exact same spot. Now _that_ was going to leave a bruise. 

Neil yanked himself out of his father’s grip and headed for the door. 

Typically, the best course of action was to take whatever his father had to give him and nurse his wounds in the bathroom afterwards, but Neil had places to be tonight. He wasn’t going to let down his friends.

Nathan stopped him before he could twist the doorknob, and shoved his back against the door. He held Neil up by his neck and an arm in his gut.

Neil gasped for breath, scrambling against the door.

“Tomorrow,” Nathan drawled, “you will get rid of these boxes, and you will come with _me,”_ he put his hands on Neil’s shoulders and punctuated the word with another shove, “to work. It’s time you learn my trade.” He grinned manically. 

Then he spit in Neil’s face. “Now get out of my sight.”

Neil scrambled for the garage door, his head and shoulder aching. He headed straight to the front of the house—he needed to be gone before Nathan changed his mind or something else set him off. He snatched his father’s wallet from the entryway table on his way out. Nathan would obviously notice it was missing, but, really, what could he do about it? He was _already_ hurting Neil every chance he got. Things couldn’t exactly get worse.

***

Kevin checked his watch as they pulled up to The Corner Store. They had arrived exactly an hour after Neil left, just like he had asked.

Five minutes later, the upperclassmen showed up.

Both groups got out of their cars and loitered around the parking lot as they waited for Neil.

Andrew sat on the roof of his rusty Honda and immediately pulled out a cigarette.

(Kevin really needed to have a discussion with him on how harmful cigarettes could be, as this was clearly becoming an increasing habit of his.)

Allison left her engine running and the doors open so they could hear the radio. She stood just outside the car, her arms resting on the top of the driver’s door.

Renee had taken post over by Andrew, the two of them chatting lowly.

Kevin checked his watch. Twenty minutes had passed. Kevin knew better than anyone what Neil’s father was capable of, but he tried not to worry.

He thought about saying something, but before he could, Neil finally rode up.

“Wesninski!” Andrew all but shouted, displaying more emotion than Kevin had seen from him in a while. “I thought we agreed on half-past.”

Neil swung off his bike and said, “I got held up.”

As he got closer, Kevin saw the blooming bruise on his face.

Andrew hopped off the car’s hood and made his way towards Neil in a few quick strides.

He grasped Neil’s chin and tilted his head to better see the injury. “What. Happened.” he grit out.

Neil shrugged. “I fell, while I was riding my bike.”

“Liar,” Andrew said with a mocking smile.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re late,” Aaron said, always one to call out bullshit.

“Look, it’s fine, I just need to ice it. Seth, get me something cold while you’re in there.” Neil pulled out a wallet and handed Seth what looked to be a couple hundred dollars.

Seth grunted and took the money.

“Blue raspberry vodka for me and Dan!” Allison said.

“Two bottles of vodka and a bottle of whiskey for us!” Nicky shouted, as Seth got closer to the door.

“What _really_ happened?” Kevin confronted Neil. He likely already knew the truth.

Neil looked at him, “Nothing, I said I’m fine.”

He started to walk past Kevin, but Kevin didn’t move out of the way like Neil thought he would. Their shoulders collided.

Neil let out a curse of pain and reflexively reached for his shoulder.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Renee asked gently.

Neil grit his teeth. “I may have also hurt my shoulder.”

Andrew offered him a cigarette. 

***

After Seth came back out with the group’s orders, (along with a pack of Miller for him and Matt, and a couple cans of Arnold Palmer; one for Neil’s cheek and one for Renee) they all made their way to the lake.

Andrew not-so-kindly ushered Neil into the middle-back of his car, after Neil finished storing his bike in the bed of Matt’s truck.

“Aren’t you fifteen?” Neil asked, yelling over the roar of the wind. They were on the highway, but Andrew insisted on driving with the windows down. “How do you even have a licence?”

Andrew glanced at Neil through the rearview mirror. He looked good with his auburn hair blowing all over the place, covering up his mesmerizing blue eyes just for the wind to show them off again a second later, re-revealing how big and bright they were.

“He doesn’t,” Nicky said, always the chatty one when Andrew or Aaron ignored direct questions. “Just a permit. But, Tilda wasn’t dependable enough to take the twins to school all the time, and they lived too far to walk, so Andrew bought a car. _I_ should be driving right now, since I’m of age, but Andrew refuses to let anyone else drive his car unless he like, absolutely has to.”

Neil hummed. “It’s a shitty car, I’m surprised he’s so protective of it.” Neil didn’t look at Nicky when he spoke; Andrew could feel eyes boring into the back of his head.

***

The lake was a forty-five minute drive from Mount Spring. They had gone from one small town to another, but this one had water, which seemed to amuse most of the group.

Dan laid down the picnic blankets and Renee broke out the plastic cups. Aaron immediately downed a double shot.

Andrew took his time sipping his Jack Daniels.

The conversation ebbed and flowed, with Nicky inevitably getting into a debate—with whoever was willing—on the newest Avengers movie, and how Iron Man was “clearly” the superior Avenger.

Dan argued that Tony Stark was better than Steve Rogers, but that Captain America was better than Iron Man.

Personally, Andrew liked Black Widow. She was good with knives.

Neil sat in between Kevin and Andrew, and the latter noticed he hadn’t had anything to drink yet.

Andrew offered him his cup. “Did you forget your promise?”

“Huh?” Neil looked down at the brown liquid. “Oh, no, I didn’t.”

He grabbed the cup from Andrew, their fingers brushing ever so slightly. Neil took a drink. “Ugh! That’s disgusting,” he grimaced.

“I beg to differ.” Andrew said, throwing back the rest of the whiskey himself. He tried not to focus on the fact his lips had touched the same place Neil’s had just been.

Neil was attractive, Andrew could easily admit that. Andrew had known he way gay from a young age, and had come out at the start of freshman year. That didn’t mean he was ready for anything to happen with anyone, even if they had smart mouths and runner’s legs.

“I think I’ll go with vodka,” Neil said.

“You want blue raspberry?” Dan asked.

“Sure,” Neil shrugged.

Renee passed Dan another red solo cup and she poured Neil a few shots worth.

“Much better,” Neil licked his lips.

Andrew looked away, and awkwardly locked eyes with Kevin. He’d been staring too? _Interesting._

Conversations moved from their most hated teachers at MSHS to who out of their group would survive in a zombie apocalypse. 

The vote was tied, 3 saying Andrew, 3 saying Renee. Neil didn’t vote, claiming he didn’t know them well enough to decide.

The alcohol slowly disappeared and soon the group was laughing at nothing in particular.

“Never have I ever?” Allison suggested, “or Truth or Dare?”

“Truth or Dare!” Nicky squelled, falling into another laughing fit.

“I second that,” Matt said, raising his cup in the air.

“Hmm, who’s first?” Allison asked.

“I have a dare for the whole group,” Renee said. She smiled serenely. “Everyone has to complement the person to their right.”

Andrew rolled his eyes.

Seth groaned, “That’s not even a dare.”

“Come on, it’ll be nice! I’ll go first.” Renee said.

She turned to Allison before anyone could argue.

“Alli, I love how ambitious you are, and how you never back down when you’re passionate about something.”

Allison blushed. “Okay, Sethhh,” she said, dragging out her letters. “Fiftyyy percent of the time,” she poked his stomach, giggling, “you’re aaactually a decent guy.”

“Gee, thanks.” Seth turned to his right. “Wait, this means I have to complement the monster?”

Aaron laughed. “Good luck.”

“Andrew...” Seth paused for a while to think, looking out at the lake. Eventually he turned back. “If I was ever going to fight one of the rich assholes at our school, I’d pick you to back me up.”

“Woah, hold on, that was actually kind of _nice,”_ Matt said.

“Awwww, look at all of us! I love you guys!” Yup, Nicky was definitely drunk.

Andrew’s turn, and what would you know, a certain redhead was to his right.

The kid had turned out to be a pretty sleepy drunk, his head falling on Kevin’s shoulder after his first cup emptied. Dan had poured him a refill, but he hadn’t really moved to take a drink again. _Was he asleep?_

Kevin gently shrugged his shoulder a couple of times, getting Neil to look up at him. _Ok, not asleep then._

“You good?” Kevin asked in a whisper.

“Hmm? Yeah,” Neil said, nuzzling further into Kevin’s neck. “What’s going on?”

“We’re complimenting each other. Andrew’s going to compliment you, then you say something nice about me,” Kevin explained.

“Right,” Neil perked up, visibly trying to appear more sober.

He turned to Andrew. “Go ahead then.”

All this time, Andrew hadn’t been thinking about anything to say. _Idiot,_ he mentally chided himself. At least he held his alcohol well, so he could stop himself from saying anything embarrassing.

“Neil… you are the least annoying person here.”

So much for not doing anything stupid. He stared at the flush in Neil’s cheeks from the alcohol and the Adam's apple he ~~maybe~~ wanted to kiss.

Neil just laughed the “compliment” off. Renee shot him a look. 

“Ok,” she said, quick to move everyone along before they had a chance to catch on. “Neil, your turn.”

“Oh right!” Neil smiled and took another drink from his cup. “This isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he said.

“What isn’t?” Allison asked.

“Drinking,” Neil said, looking around at the group. “I was sort of scared to get drunk and, like, be too weak to defend myself, but,” he hiccuped, “you guys haven’t done anything bad… you’re nice!” he declared with a thumbs up and a smile.

Dan and Matt looked at Neil with sorrow in their eyes; like they wanted to adopt and protect him from all the evils in the world.

Andrew wasn’t naïve enough to think that possible.

Nicky wined, “Neeil that’s so sad.” He moved to hug him. Andrew slapped the back of his head before he could.

“Anyways, Kevin,” Neil said, getting himself back on track.

“I like your eyes. They’re like…” he frowned, searching for the word, “Emeralds!” he exclaimed. “Your eyes are an emerald life before me.”

Andrew didn’t really know what that meant, and judging from the looks on the others’ faces, they didn’t either, but Neil said it so poetically and meaningfully that nobody questioned him. 

Kevin whispered a quiet “thanks,” jostling Neil’s shoulder with his own.

Neil hissed and rubbed his shoulder.

“Shit!” Kevin said, “Sorry, I forgot!”

“S’okay,” Neil said.

The turns went quickly after that. 

Kevin complimented Aaron’s brain, saying _You’re super smart, I suck at Bio and Chem but you’re like, really good._

Aaron said _I’m glad you’re my cousin,_ to which Nicky started crying.

Through his tears, he told Dan she was _the perfect person to vent to and get advice from._

Dan told Matt he was _the best boyfriend ever,_ to which Matt sarcastically whispered _cop-out,_ and kissed her on the cheek anyways.

Finally, Matt rounded things out by giving Renee a compliment, calling her _an angel,_ and saying she _had a heart of gold._

The alcohol was almost gone at this point, the night getting late, the gleam of the lake getting brighter as the night got darker. 

Allison asked if they could do “real” dares now, and Neil seemed to have gotten his second-wind.

Suddenly he couldn’t sit still: dancing with Matt when he asked if he would (tripping over his own feet several times), trying to do a handstand when Renee dared him to (and surprisingly succeeding), and fiercely egging on the others when it was their turn.

No one nominated Andrew for any truths or dares. Smart move.

When it was Neil’s turn, he dared Nicky to say the alphabet backwards. Nicky couldn’t get past “x”.

The alcohol had created a nice warm buzz inside Andrew. He felt almost at peace as he watched the chaos around him. The night should have been drawing to a close, but the group was nowhere near making its way back to reality.

Allison had the last dare of the night. She looked around, searching for something.

“Neil,” she said, “I dare you to run to that street sign and back.”

Neil considered it. Not doing a dare meant you had to take an extra shot.

“Anyone wanna race?” Neil asked.

“I’ll give it a go,” Matt said, helping Neil out the same way he had for him earlier.

They lined up on the edge of the pavement.

“Whoever hits the street sign first wins,” Neil said, “Count us down.”

***

“3, 2… 1!” Alli finished her count and Neil was off. He was good at running.

Even drunk, it couldn’t stop him from sprinting with all his might. He couldn’t see Matt in his preferal anymore, likely jogging pretty slow to avoid throwing up.

Still, Neil knew he could beat any one of them when both parties were sober.

He felt electric, running on concrete, the wind propelling him forwards.

He jumped up and smacked the sign, the metal reverberating against his palm.

***

Neil won the race by a mile. The fucker was surprisingly fast.

Andrew watched as Neil turned around after his victory, jogging back to meet Matt. 

The two shared a couple sentences back and forth, Neil gave Matt a pat on the back, and then he was off running again.

He- he wasn’t running in a straight line back towards the group.

He curved left, breaking out into another sprint, before—

Neil cannonballed directly into the lake.

Not everyone was watching the race, either too drunk to pay attention or too busy making out with each other. 

But everyone’s head turned as they heard the splash of the water.

It was silent, for a moment, before Neil popped back up from underneath the water.

Andrew could hear him laughing all the way from here.

Allison cheered, quickly getting up, stripping, and running off to join him.

Nicky was next, stumbling to take off his clothes as he ran towards the lake.

Some were quick to down their drinks before making their way over, and Renee and Andrew chose to keep their shirts and shorts on, same as Neil.

Andrew walked over to the edge of the lake with Kevin and Aaron.

Aaron was being a pussy, saying he would “just watch” from the shore, and Andrew was _just_ about to push him in, but before he could Kevin grabbed his hand and managed to convince him to get in the water.

The water was weirdly warm. Andrew didn’t know what time it was, but the sun had gone down long ago and he would have expected a cooler night water.

Andrew ran his fingers through the surface, watching as ripples formed.

The moonlight reflected off the lake and cast a blue glow off skin that was still visible above the water.

Neil had taken to swimming laps, and Allison and Renee were floating on their backs whilst holding hands.

It was shallow enough for Andrew to touch, but just barely. Matt and Seth on the other hand, were crouched down onto their knees so their chests could be in the water too.

They were talking about some basketball game that aired last night, claiming the refs had “totally thrown the game”. Andrew wasn’t really into sports. 

He watched as Neil made his way back to the group, and tried not to notice how good he looked with his hair matted down or how his chest was heaving from all the exercise. 

“Nice of you guys to join me,” he said.

Kevin rolled his eyes and swatted the water, lightly splashing Neil in response.

Neil giggled—no, seriously, he full-on _giggled._ It was easy to forget that almost the entire group was completely sloshed right now. 

“Oh, you’re _on,_ Day.” Neil splashed Kevin with both hands, getting Andrew wet too. Andrew glared at Neil, but it went unnoticed as Neil _hopped on Kevin’s back._

Andrew thought he might be trying to push Kevin’s head under water, but he wasn’t really managing much of anything considering Kevin was an entire foot taller than him. He was just slipping and sliding around like a monkey as he tried to hang on to Kevin’s back, his arms gripping Kevin’s neck.

Neil was giggling and screaming and Andrew had never seen Neil or Kevin so happy before.

“Ready?” Kevin asked, smiling up at Neil.

“Ready for—” Kevin grabbed Neil’s thighs so he couldn’t escape, jumped up, and before Neil could finish his question, the two were plummeting underwater.

Neil surfaced coughing like crazy, receiving a few hard pats on the back from Nicky. 

***

Eventually, the group called it a night.

They got out of the lake, and didn't bother waiting to dry off before putting back on their shirts and shorts.

They cleaned up their site, picking up their almost-empty bottles and sloppily folding the blankets they brought. 

Carrying their shoes in their hands, they made their way back to their two cars. Andrew would drive his and Renee would drive Allison’s, seeing as they were the only two sober people in the group—or semi-sober in Andrew’s case. 

Before they could get in, Andrew noticed a slight problem.

“Nope,” he said, shaking his head, “we can’t leave yet.”

“What? Why not?” Nicky asked.

“You lot are _not_ getting my car wet. We’ll stay here until we dry—until mine and Neil’s clothes dry _completely—_ or you can pile into Allison’s car and leave now.”

“Andrew, you know that’s ridiculous,” Aaron said.

He didn’t budge.

“Andreww,” Nicky whined, “it’s so laate, I wanna go to bed.” 

He huffed. He was starting to get cold too... “If these seats get permanent damage _you’ll_ be paying for it.”

“Yes!” Nicky said, “See y’all soon!” he waved goodbye to the upperclassmen. 

Neil popped open the back door, not waiting any longer to get in. 

“I guess this is my fault, huh?” he called out to Andrew. “Sorry,” he said.

He didn’t seem sorry at all, but Andrew couldn’t be too mad about the back of Neil’s wet shirt pressing against the upholstery, seeing as the front of his shirt was sticking beautifly to Neil’s skin.


	4. Generation Why

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil makes a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! just popping in with another short chap :-) I can't believe how easy it is to forget to upload like?? why do all the days just blend together D; and school's starting to pick up so idk how much time i'll have to write with the end of the semester approaching!
> 
> but thank you again for your comments! they let me know that you're reading and enjoying every chapter as the story goes on :) i appreciate it!   
> look forward to some spicy jean/neil in the next chapter 👀👀👀
> 
> cw: racism (pig higgins is a prick!)

“So we’re all leaving,” Dan said.

“Not all of us,” Allison sighed. “We’re leaving Seth behind.”

They were in Renee’s room, the three of them having a girls night.

Renee had recently moved here from Michigan, and after just a year with her adoptive mom, Stephanie, the two had decided it would be best for Renee to follow her friends to Palmetto. She’d never had any close friends in Detroit, but she’d created such strong bonds here with her girls and she wasn’t ready to lose them or Andrew or any of her friends.

“I can’t believe it,” Dan said. “I mean what are the odds, the three of us, Matt, and Andrew’s lot as well, even Kevin.”

Matt was spending the rest of his summer at a rehab clinic getting clean, and he and his mom had decided it was best for him to cut ties with all of the kids at school who sold and used. Since Dan was already attending Palmetto next year, Matt promised his mom he wouldn’t fall into the same crowds and convinced her it would be better to start over there.

Kevin’s reasoning was similar to Renee’s: Wymack had agreed to pay for the boarding school tuition since that’s where Andrew and Aaron would be next year.

“What about Neil?” Allison asked.

Renee shrugged. “Haven’t heard anything. But, he’s just a freshman, I’m sure he’ll make good friends in his grade once the school year starts.”

“Yeah, I guess so…”

***

**The End of August**

Neil was rotting away. 

He had been helpless to his father’s rule all summer long. It was suffocating. 

Neil hadn’t seen Kevin and his friends since that night at the lake. In fact, he hadn’t even left his house in weeks. His father had been controlling his day-to-day activities, spending hours with him in the basement teaching him the family trade.

Neil was getting desperate. And he was running out of options.

He was in the bathroom, stitching up his latest wounds. His father had gone a bit overboard with today's lesson, making his son demonstrate what he had learned over the past week. With no one around to volunteer, Nathan had Neil demonstrate on himself.

The cold sink water ran over his hand and wrist, and Neil grimaced at the stinging.

With the rate things in the Wesninski Household were escalating, Neil didn’t think he’d make it past highschool graduation. And honesty, what’s the use in trying if you’re bound to die?

He could run from his parents and start a new life somewhere else.

Maybe go to the East Coast or leave the country entirely. He’d always wanted to learn German.

But what’s the _point._ His dad could just hire someone to find him. He could file a missing person’s report. 

Neil could also just wait it out until age eighteen, and leave his parents house and guardianship one hundred percent legally. 

He didn’t have anything to lose by leaving, and he had everything to lose by staying.

It just wasn’t something he could do on his own. He needed the infamous Mary Wesninski charm and wit and her ability to con or scam anyone she set her mind to.

She hadn’t been doing well since the move, but Neil just needed one last favor from her. He’d never asked for anything so big and outlandish before, and after everything they’d been through— as victims, as Mother and Son, Neil felt he was owed at least this. Mary was going to have to put on one last show before retiring.

Nathan had left hours ago for a business meeting, and Neil knew he had to act now before it was too late. He thought of the school Dan had mentioned, what seemed like a million nights ago. The private boarding school. The one that kept students in and kept parents miles away. He’d be safe there. His father couldn’t get to him there… especially if he didn’t know he _was_ there.

If Neil was going to run, Nathan would expect him to run as far as possible. He’d never expect him to stay in the same state, just a couple of hours away. Neil would be hiding in plain sight. 

***

“Mom,” Neil choked out.

Mary was on the couch. Again. Still. However you wanted to look at it, there she was.

“Mom, you have to help me. You have to get me out.”

Mary blinked.

_Come on Mom._

“I need to leave now, before it’s too late.

“Say something,” Neil said in an angry whisper.

His mom didn’t have any right to abandon him like this. To shut down, when he arguably needed her most. 

Neil watched as Mary slowly came back to life. She stared at her son as if he were a stranger, before her brown eyes focused and shone with just a sliver of recognition.

“Can you help me?” Neil asked.

Mary gave a slight hum. “With?”

“We’ve gotta put on one last show. There’s a school. A boarding school. Can you get me in?”

Mary took a deep breath. Nodded. “I can do it.”

***

Mr. Higgins’ office phone rang, interrupting the game of 2048 he was playing on his cell.

_Mr. Higgins, I have a potential student in the lobby. He’d like a meeting._

“Send him in.”

***

Mary Wesninski, 5’5, red hair pulled back in a bun, sat with her legs crossed and her spine straight.

Neil sat next to her, closest to the door. He leaned back, prepared to let Mary do her job without any interference.

He tried not to fidget as Mr. Higgins looked over his file.

“Neil... Josten. Are you divorced, Ms. Wesninski?”

She smiled, bright and blinding. “Something like that.”

Neil fought not to roll his eyes. He could understand that his mother had a certain beauty to her, but how could they be so blind as not to see the danger she posed?

“So, my son. Does he have a spot?”

“Well…” Mr. Higgins began. “This late in the year… we’re not _technically_ fully booked, but things are tight, and the remaining spots are usually reserved for diversity students. It’s a state requirement, having a certain amount of nonwhite students and having a certain amount of poor students who get our top-tier education for free. What are you gonna do, right?”

He saw Mary hesitate only briefly, before she worked his angle.

“Well, actually, my son’s Jewish.”

“Oh! Brilliant. Not the type of minority the board usually goes for, they like their Blacks and Mexicans, if you know what I mean, but I think I can swing it. For you, that is.”

Mary inched closer and rested her fingers on the edge of the desk. “That would be _wonderful_ Mr. Higgins.”

“Please, call me Phil.” He gave his mouse two quick clicks to wake up his computer. “Now, he won’t have his pick of room assignments so close to the start of the semester, but I do need to know what type of housing he’s looking for.”

“Ah, he’s going to be attending year round. But whatever you have available is fine.” she grinned.

“No worries, Mary, there are still a few spots in Foxshire, which provides supervision and cafeteria options over our breaks. Mr. Josten,”

Neil sat up, surprised to be addressed directly. “Yes, sir.”

“You will be rooming with another year round student, Jean Moreau, from France.

Neil nodded.

“It’s a four person room, very spacious, and your third roommate, Matt Boyd, is just a seasonal student.” He gave his computer a few more clicks and the printer on the other side of the room whirred to life.

Mr. Higgins walked over and grabbed the papers to hand to Neil. “These are your room assignments, and here is your schedule. Every freshman takes the same four classes, and you will decide your elective with your advisor your first week here.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“If that is all—”

“Phil, if you don’t mind, he’d like to be enrolled tonight. That is, on the early admissions. We have a bag packed in the car, he’s ready to move in today.”

“Um—” Mr. Higgins faltered “That is highly unusual.”

“Please,” Mary leaned further, practically falling out of her chair at this point. Neil watched as fuck-face Higgins (seriously, he was starting to really hate this guy) tried not to, but failed entirely, to stare at Mary’s clevage and the way her skirt rode up a few more inches.

“I- I suppose it could be done. You’d have to talk to housing to get access to the rooms, but, tell them you have my permission and it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Oh, _thank_ you so much Phil. You’re truly a lifesafer. I know my boy Neil here appreciates it, as do I. One last thing,” Mary pulled out her purse, unceremoniously dumping the contents on to Mr. Higgins’ desk. “That’s two hundred thousand dollars. Cash. Enough for all four years here, year round.” She stood and walked towards the door, Neil following directly behind her. “Thanks again, Phil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this doesnt seem too mary apologist, obviously she's an awful human being but she must've known what she was doing on the run pretending to be all those different identities so this is kind of that. 
> 
> so yes, Seth is not in this fic lol but he his happy and healthy and thriving on his own path in life!!
> 
> Next chapter everyone will be at the school so hopefully it will seem like Things Are Finally Happening


	5. Crush Culture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil and Jean are ~roommates~. Kevin is jealous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not to brag but my version of jean is ICONIC. 
> 
> aah almost a month between chapters sorry y'all 😅 this chap is what it is idk
> 
> ~ if your winter blues are setting in please remember to eat something and get fresh air when you can!! love y'all ~

It was a full week before anyone else arrived on campus. For once in his life Neil was cursing the fact he didn’t have his cellphone. He wanted to tell Kevin he hadn’t run. He wanted to tell Andrew he wasn’t rid of him yet, that he’d have to put up with his so-called annoyances for three more years.

The bright side was that he had time to scope out the campus. It wasn’t all that big, considering this was a boarding school, not a college campus, but it was still about a mile and a half all the way around when running the perimeter. Most of his classes stuck to the west side of campus, where his housing was. This year, Neil was taking American Literature, United States Government, Biology, Geometry, and for his elective he chose Spanish I.

His first day in the dorms he walked down to the nearby Kohl's and used some of the money his mom left him to buy bed sheets and other necessary dormitory items. He didn’t want to buy anything too frivaless, things like shampoo or toothpaste, because he knew he could just poach those from his roommates, but he picked up some travel-sized items to hold him over until they moved in.

When they finally did arrive, Neil was leaning against the window, looking out at the campus and wishing he had a cigarette. Unfortunately the cashier at the gas station hadn’t believed Neil was any older than 16 thanks to his height, much less the legal age of 18.

Neil was grateful that Matt was the first to arrive, considering he already knew him—unlike this mysterious Jean. 

It was just _so_ amusing to watch Matt sputter like that.

_“Neil?_ What the actual- what the _fuck_ how are you even here right now!” Matt ran across the room and captured Neil in a bone crushing hug. 

“I’d answer if I could breathe,” Neil smiled.

“Right, sorry.”

With Neil’s feet safely back on the ground, he explained to Matt how he enrolled last minute after convincing his mom to let him come here for school. That this dorm had only two occupants at the time, so he got placed here by Mr. Higgins.

“I’m so happy you’re here! We probably won’t have any classes together, but rooming together will be loads of fun, right? Know anything about Jean yet?” Matt pronounced the name like the denim pants.

Neil chuckled, “No, he’s not checked in yet. And it’s pronounced _Jean._ He’s french.”

“Oh shit, that’s embarrassing. At least I won’t say it the wrong way in front of him now, thanks for looking out man.”

***

“Would you check the exit?” Wymack asked.

Kevin had his earbuds in and was looking out the window, trying not to check his phone _again_ to see if Neil had responded. He’d stopped by the Wesninski house before leaving that morning, wanting to say goodbye to Neil and let him know that he could visit him anytime and was welcome to crash in the dorms with him on weekends. But Neil wasn’t there. And after a not-so-pleasant conversation with Neil’s dad, Kevin found out that Nathan didn’t know where he was.

After all this time, Kevin couldn’t believe Neil ran away. And he didn’t even say goodbye.

_“Kevin,”_ Wymack shouted.

Kevin startled and pulled out his left earbud. “What?” he asked.

Wymack sighed. “What exit do we take?” 

“Oh,” he unlocked his phone, frowning at the little green icon that wasn’t lit up with any notifications, and clicked on the Maps app. 

***

Neil never had any friends at his old schools. He was never there for long, and prefered to keep his head down. His mom wasn’t big on the idea of him spilling all their secrets to the first kid that invited him over for Spongebob shaped Mac and Cheese (as if he was so easily bribed). But here he was, the first day of school not until tomorrow, and he already knew someone. He already had a friend. 

After Matt got settled in, claiming one of the bottom bunks for himself, Neil joined him and they discussed the upcoming semester for a bit before watching a movie on his laptop. 

That was how Jean found them. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked, standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

_“Jean!”_ Matt exclaimed, hopping off the twin bed and not-so-subtly winking at Neil. “It’s nice to meet you! I’m Matt, this is Neil.”

Jean grunted and shook Matt’s outstretched hand.

“You’ve got top bunk.” Neil said.

“I see that,” Jean muttered in french, moving towards the bed above Matt’s.

Neil raised his eyebrows. “Long flight?” he asked, also in French.

Jean turned and looked him up and down. “Actually, it _was_ about thirteen hours, thank you very much.” He returned to English, “Maybe all you American’s aren’t as useless as I thought.”

“Um, what?” Matt asked.

***

When Dan arrived, Matt went to help her move in.. leaving an awkward Jean and Neil by themselves. Neil didn’t really understand him, with his books that had paintings in them and his black nail polish that was sparkly only on his ring fingers.

“Why is it you speak French,” Jean asked.

Neil shrugged. “My mom had me learn when I was young. Passed the time, I guess.”

He hummed. “I like the color of your eyes.” He said it like a line of poetry.

“Is that supposed to be sexy or something?” Neil smirked. He was used to people hitting on him, he didn’t really get why though.

Jean shrugged. “You sound sexy when you speak French, thought maybe I could try it on you.”

Neil blushed. “That- you-” he stuttered. He stood up. “I know what you’re doing, it’s not going to work.” Without anywhere else to go, he stormed off into the bathroom.

***

Kevin ran into Matt in the hallway.

“Oh, hey Kev! Good to see you. I just got back from helping Dan. She’s on the floor right above us with Renee and Allison. You’re rooming with Andrew yeah?”

“Andrew, Nicky, and Aaron. It’s a full house.”

“Damn, if only you’d known about Neil, you guys could have split up three and two for a little more space.”

Kevin faltered. “Neil— sorry what about Neil?”

Matt grinned. “He’s here! He’s rooming with me!”

“Stay here,” Kevin ran down to his dorm room, “Dad!” he panted, “Don’t go anywhere I’ll be back soon okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer, he just ran back down to the other end of the hall and asked Matt, “What room?”

“321. I’ll take you to him.”

***

“Um, where’s Neil?

The black haired boy didn't look up from his phone. “He’s probably busy pretending I have no effect on him.”

“I- sorry what?”

“He’s in the bathroom.”

Kevin spun and knocked lightly on the bathroom door. “Neil? It’s me.”

The door creaked open and Kevin was pulled inside.

“Why are you in the bathroom?”

“I think Jean is a compulsive liar.”

“What? Okay, nevermind that, how are you here right now?”

“My dad doesn’t know where I am,” Neil whispered. “I wanted to tell you. I had to ditch my phone.”

“I’m just glad you're here”

***

“How is it you have enough pocket money to buy an iPhone 11,” Jean asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Neil said.

After Neil finished making his rounds, letting everyone know he was “back” and here to stay all four years, Kevin dragged him to the nearest mall first thing to get a new phone. Andrew came with (he was the one with a car) and Aaron and Nicky wanted to purchase some video game that had just come out so they came too.

Apparently it was a big deal to buy an iPhone outright rather than getting a payment plan. Neil was frugal with his money, but Mary had left him with more than enough and he thought at least this way he wouldn’t have to worry about upgrading anytime soon. Plus, if he bought the phone _he_ wanted it would attract too much suspicion. This way he’d fit right in with his classmates.

“Let me see it,” Jean said.

Neil handed his phone over, unsure what Jean would want with it but not too worried—it was brand new, it’s not like he had any incriminating evidence on the thing.

After a moment, Neil heard a small ping.

“There,” Jean handed back Neil’s phone and pulled out his own, “Now we have each other's numbers.”

“Why would I need to text you?” Neil asked quizzically.

His response came in a text message. *french* _So you can tell me how pretty I look, even when you can’t see me._

Another ping. _And I’ll text you to remind you to stop biting your fingernails. That your hands would look better in my mouth._

Neil flushed beet red. “You _really_ have to stop doing that,” he said out loud.

“No, seriously, isn’t this, like, sexual harassment or something?”

Jean snorted. “If I actually thought you wanted me to stop, I would. _Seriously,”_ he mocked, “look me in the eye, tell me no, and I’ll stop.”

Neil took a deep breath. Looked around their dorm. At the Cross Country schedule taped above his bed. At Jean’s shiny black shoes.

He looked down at his phone, and texted, Oui.

Jean grinned.

***

Andrew’s first day of sophomore year was nothing but syllabi and teachers with far too much enthusiasm. His first “class” was a mandatory briefing discussing the rules of the school. Curfew is at 10pm. No smoking on campus (ha). If sick, you must see the school nurse to obtain an excused absence. Any issues inside your dorm or in the communal kitchens are reported by calling maintenance. Doors will be locked at 10pm. If you are not in your room by 10pm, you must call the office to be let in, and you will be punished accordingly. Three strikes, you’re out.

His current class, American Government, he (annoyingly) shared with Kevin, who was apparently trying his best to become “teacher’s pet”. Actually, now that he thought about, Kevin had been _extra_ annoying lately. He was always a bit restless in the fall since he didn’t have a sport to compete in (he did swimming in the winter and track & field in the spring) but this was different, like he was sad, almost. _Could it be true? Did Kevin Day have emotions?_

After classes, Andrew headed up to the top of the dorms to scope out the roof. It was locked, but it didn’t take long for Andrew to pick it. He made his way to the edge and sat down on the cement top. 

He’d left the door slightly ajar so he wouldn’t get locked out, but even without the click of the handle he could hear someone coming.

“I can leave, if you want to be alone,” the voice said.

Ah, the infamous Neil Josten. 

***

“I can’t believe the first week of classes are already over. This school’s no joke either, I have a lot of homework this weekend.” Matt said.

Neil hummed from his bunk, his eyes glued to his laptop. “Me too, but I’m gonna save it all for Sunday.”

“No judgement here, Dan and I are going out on a date night.” Matt wiggled his eyebrows. “I uh, I’m staying at her dorm tonight actually, so don’t wait up.”

“Oh,” Neil said, “Okay, see you tomorrow then.”

Neil was rewatching every youtube clip he could find of Mikey Bell from this year's summer olympics. He was the best long distance runner the USA team had, earning a silver medal in both the 1500 and 5000M races. Neil had yet to break a five minute mile, and because he was a freshman he didn’t even have a PR in the three mile yet. But he wouldn’t settle for anything less than the varsity team this year. He opened a new tab and pulled up the cross country top times of South Carolina. Palmetto had a decent track record of making it to state, but they never placed. Neil _needed_ to go to state. He wanted to race as many times as he could, he wouldn’t let his season be cut short because he didn’t qualify for sectionals or state. He should look up the records from last year to see what his competition would be...

“Are you not wearing pants?”

Neil jumped. “What makes you say that?! Of course I am!”

Jean smirked. “It’s just there’s a pair of jeans at the foot of the bed, you’ve got a blanket on… thought maybe you were in your boxers that’s all.”

“No, I’m wearing pajamas.” Neil pulled back the blanket to reveal his blue-plaid pajama bottoms.

Jean raised his eyebrows. “It’s 8pm, on a saturday, and you're in bed, in your pajamas.”

“Yeah…”

“You don’t see a problem with that?”

“Cross Country tryouts are tomorrow,” Neil said.

“And?”

“I’m… preparing. Bell ran a 13:03 this year, that's insane. If I ever want to see the olympics I need to be running close to 17:30 this season. That means a steady 6:10 mile pace.”

“Right.” Jean marched over and shut his laptop.

“Hey!”

“You obsessing is not helping anything. It’s cross country, nobody even gets cut from the team. Wait until you actually have your first meet to freak out. Come on, we’re going out tonight.”

“Where?”

“Okay, not _out_ but there’s a party in the study rooms with video games, foosball, a pool table. You’re going.”

Neil huffed. “Fine. Turn around so I can change my pants.”

***

Here’s the type of student that attended Palmetto Boarding School: White. Trust funded. Probably homophobic, most likely racist, and definitely assholes.

First thing Neil noticed when he walked into the room was the already-established hierarchy. Real student-types who were actually here for the promised college-ready education stuck to one corner, sipping sodas quietly. Stoners in polos and athletes in track pants hung together by the video games 

...And in the middle of it all, sat a kid with jet black hair that had an air of false superiority. Neil assumed he was the ‘leader’.

The kid turned his head and locked eyes with Neil. They shimmered with amusement. Neil rolled his. 

“Bet you five bucks I can beat you at pool.”

“I’ve never played,” Jean said. “Can I be stripes?”

Neil snorted.

“You suck at this.” Neil proclaimed. He only had one more ball and the 8 before he won. 

Neil didn’t think Jean was trying very hard. Jean had been watching _him_ all night, not the game. Neil pretended not to notice, but he could feel Jean’s stare on his back and ass any time he leaned down to line up his shots. 

“Oh hell yes!” Neil grinned. “This pocket, right here, Moreau. You’re about to own me big time.”

“It’s five dollars,” Jean smirked. “I think I’ll manage.”

“Yeah but it’s the pride of the thing,” he whined.

Jean huffed. “I’ll make sure to tell everyone you are both an amazing pool player as well as an incredible piece of ass.”

A choked sound came from behind them.

Neil turned. “Oh, um, hey Kev, Andrew.”

“Hey,” Kevin croaked. “I stopped by your room to invite you, figured you were on a run or something.”

“Nah,” Neil said nonchalantly. “Giving Jean a run for his money though.” He laughed at his own joke.

“I’ll go get us some drinks,” Jean said, lightly touching Neil’s back as he left.

“Kevin, Mariokart.” Andrew gestured to the TV set up with Double Dash. 

“Right, sure,” Kevin said. “Hang later?” he asked Neil.

“Always,” Neil said.

***

Kevin watched from the couch as Jean came back and handed Neil a red solo cup. He crossed his arms. He couldn’t help but stare. Neil usually wasn’t so open to strangers. It took almost the whole summer to get him used to most of his group, and he still wasn’t that close with Renee or Aaron. How… and why… did he latch on to his new roommate so quickly?

Andrew shoved a controller in his hand. “Less staring, more playing.”

He didn’t even bother to feel embarrassed. Andrew selected Rainbow Road, because he liked showing off how good he was. Two other kids were playing with them, one as Mario and one as Diddy Kong. Kevin was always Daisy. The laps went by quickly, and he ended up in third place. Andrew never even once fell off the side.

When he looked up again, Neil was gone. His eyebrows wrinkled. That was weird. He looked around, but Neil was nowhere to be found, and after a second scan of the room he realized neither was Jean. He tried not to think about it and excused himself to go get a drink. He filled up a glass with ice, poured vodka until it hit about half-way, and added a splash of tonic water on top. There. A perfectly normal vodka tonic.

***

Jean returned with a cup of spiked punch and Neil thanked him.

“Want to watch me beat you in foosball next?”

“Please, _I’d_ earn my money back if we played foosball. But no, I’m not in the mood.”

“Okaay, want to pretend to be drunk and cause a dramatic scene?”

Jean huffed, “Where do you come up with this stuff?”

“I’ve spent _years_ hiding and trying not to stand out. It gets old. I’m ready to cause a _ruckus.”_

Jean snorted.

“Or…” Neil bit his lip. “I guess I wouldn’t mind hiding one last time.”

Neil watched as Jean raised an eyebrow. He took a deep breath. It was now or never, he supposed.

“Come here,” he grabbed Jean’s hand and led him past a large dancing crowd, past a couple standing on the outskirts and shouting into each other's ears to be heard over the music, and into the little corner that was carved out by the door that led to the bathroom. They were still in the same room as the party, could still hear a muffled version of everything going on, but no one else could see them.

“See?” Neil whispered. “We’re hiding.”

“And why are we hiding?” Jean tried to match his pitch but ended up just talking at a normal volume with a weird inflection to his voice.

“You know why.”

Jean grinned. “Yeah, I do, just didn’t expect you to be the one to initiate it.”

Neil couldn’t help but blush. He didn’t really get why he was doing what he was doing either. Typically he met the whole ‘who’s your crush’ question with silence and an internal disgust as all everyone cared about was who kissed who. It was like a cult, or a weird game that Neil really didn’t want to participate in.

Kevin and him sort of just fell into each other back in middle school. _This_ is the first time he’s actively seeking this kind of thing out. But whatever, it was highschool, he didn’t need to have a crisis about it. He just wanted to have fun.

Leaning against the wall, he put his hands around Jean’s waist and pulled him towards his own body. Their stomachs were touching, and Jean shifted just the slightest to slot his feet in between Neil’s and rest his hand on the wall by Neil’s head.

Neil raised a hand to rest it on Jean’s shoulder. His thumb slipped down into the dip above Jean’s collarbone.

“Okay, kiss me now.” Neil said.

Jean did exactly that. Neil tried to keep his breathing steady, but his hands gave him away as his nails dug into Jean’s skin. He pulled Jean even closer and couldn’t help but arch away from the wall towards him. Jean bit down on his bottom lip and Neil tried not to groan. They were still in public after all. But fuck, if he wasn’t already weak. Jean broke himself off to catch his breath but Neil wasn’t ready to stop. He started kissing Jean’s jaw, making his way to his earlobe and back. Jean let out a breathy curse which traveled all the way down Neil’s spine. Neil tilted Jean’s chin back to him and moaned into Jean’s mouth as their lips met again.

***

Rumors spread fast. Aaron wasn’t at the party last night— he was still getting set up and settled into his dorm. He’d have plenty of time to party later in the year, right now he needed to make sure he was ready for the start of his sophomore year on Monday.

But even though he only left his dorm to go to the dining hall or pick up his textbooks, he still overheard a lot of crap from his classmates. Apparently there was a “King” of Palmetto he needed to watch out for, and apparently there had been a lot of freshmen “staking their claim” on each other as it had turned into quite the hookup party.

Allison confirmed that one of those couples had been Neil and a mystery man. Aaron could care less, but Kevin wasn’t acting like himself and he was pretty sure that had something to do with it. 

After his classes, he headed back to the dorms to find Kevin already there. 

“You done with classes?”

There was a muffled “Yeah” from under the blankets.

“Eat dinner already?”

“No.”

Aaron sat down on the edge of the bed and unzipped his backpack. He’d stopped at one of the vending machines around campus earlier and picked out a couple granola bars for tomorrow since he wouldn’t have a long enough break in between classes to go to eat lunch.

“Here,” Aaron said. He poked Kevin’s side.

His head emerged from the blanket, his face squished in a pout. He took the granola bar.

“Can you just… go away?” Kevin asked.

“No,” Aaron said.

Kevin stared down at the granola bar. “I don’t want your sympathy.”

“And you’re not getting it. You’ve got a crush on Josten or something?”

Kevin laughed. “Crushes are so stupid.”

“You know he kissed me? Back in August. And then he just… forgot about it.”

“I thought he might be an asshole,” Aaron said. “Now I have proof.”

“No,” Kevin said. “It’s not his fault. We’re a thing of the past… seeing him again I tried to pick up where we left off but it’s different now. We’ll always be close, closer than other people can understand, but… we shouldn’t be… he’s just not the one.”

Aaron thought about that. He seemed pretty rational about the whole thing, so what was he moping for? Aaron wanted to help but he didn’t know how.

“So, you want me to leave and just let you be sad and lonely or do you want to go watch the next episode of _Peaky Blinders?”_

“Won’t Andrew be mad if we watch it without him?”

“Who cares,” Aaron said with a false bravado. And Kevin smiled.

*** 

Neil and Andrew were on the roof. They were always on the roof. It had become a bit of a _thing._ Neil would be in class, watching the clock and just waiting to be done with his lessons so he could head back to Foxshire and make his way up to the roof, where Andrew was typically already waiting.

They hadn’t said anything yet today, they just sat side-by-side sharing cigarettes and looking out at the campus.

Neil was thinking a lot about Jean lately. They’d gotten back to the dorms the night of the party and Neil invited Jean to his bed so they could cuddle as they fell asleep and Jean just… scoffed and climbed the ladder to his bunk.

He liked Jean, that he was sure of, but something was off. Or missing. Maybe he needed to talk it through with someone. He looked over at Andrew, and their eyes met. 

“Remember Saturday?”

“I remember everything,” Andrew replied.

“Smart ass,” Neil shook his head. “Okay, so. Me and Jean... kinda hooked up that night."

Andrew didn’t say anything.

“You’re not surprised?” Neil ventured.

Andrew exhaled a stream of smoke. “No one cares if you two made out.”

Neil raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t say you did.”

It wasn’t something he would have noticed a couple weeks ago, but he was slowly getting to know Andrew better and he could make out a slight scowl forming across his eyebrows. He smiled secretly at the reaction. 

“I like him,” Neil said, “but this kind of stuff is new to me and… I don’t know.” he trailed off.

Andrew was quiet for a while. “Don’t do anything you don’t want to do.”

He nodded. But it wasn’t that… he _did_ want to be with Jean. In fact he very much wanted to make out with him again as soon as possible. Maybe nothing was wrong, maybe he was over thinking things. He’d see if anything changed the next time they were together. If not, then perfect! Maybe this problem could be solved without him actually having to do anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't forget to drop a comment!! :) tyy


	6. Greek God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil finds out a few things about himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was a STRUGGLE and idek why because this is SUCH a jean song. hopefully it turned out aight
> 
> ik i said this last time, but im going to try to have a shorter period in between this chapter and the next one!! thank you to everyone who's subscribed or left comments ): ily

Matt having a girlfriend in the same building as them, just a floor above, was a godsend. It meant he and Neil were often left alone; left to their own devices. Like now. Jean on Neil’s bed. Neil pinned underneath him. Pants discarded. Jean’s hands in Neil’s hair.

Jean wasn’t self-absorbed or arrogant—in fact he wasn’t even sure he was that conventionally good looking—he just knew American’s were a sucker for his French accent, and if there was one thing he did have, it was confidence. He could give people what they wanted, and damn did he get good in return.

Honestly, Neil wasn’t lacking any confidence either. He wasn’t experienced, that much Jean could tell, but he was _eager._ He could feel Neil scratching down his back, the tips of his fingers sliding under his shirt.

People had turned him down before, sure, but nothing anyone said or did affected him, he’d just try with someone else.

***

“Boo,” Jean came up behind Neil and whispered in his ear. “Where are you headed?”

“Practice,” Neil said. “Walk with me?” He reached out and grabbed for Jean’s hand.

Jean slipped his hands into his coat pockets. He hoped it was subtle enough for Neil to think Jean hadn’t noticed his attempt to _hold hands._ Why the fuck was Neil trying to hold his hand. They weren’t dating. And Jean had absolutely no want or need for that kind of relationship. He didn’t really do feelings, and he definitely didn’t do boyfriends.

He cleared his throat. “Um, I still have one more class. In Powers, just up there,” he pointed.

They walked in silence until Jean made it to his building and Neil continued walking through campus to make his way to the Track.

***

“Okay, move your hand up just a little higher.” Allison crouched down to get a better angle.

“Why am I doing this again?” Neil asked.

“Because you love me,” Allison answered simply. “Plus, free clothes. M’kay, I think we’re good.”

She sat down at her desk and Neil sat at Renee’s. Styling Neil and using him as a model had been the perfect way to contrast her Instagram posts of makeup looks and self-shot portraits. Neil didn’t like to wear anything too eccentric, but his model-look paired with minimalist outfits has helped her account grow exponentially.

“Sooo,” Allison tried to seem as casual as possible. Make Neil feel like there was no pressure to answer. I mean, of course there _was,_ but she had to make it seem nonchalant. “Who’s the roommate?”

“Jean?” Neil asked.

“No, Matt.” Allison rolled her eyes. “And you two are…” she wiggled her eyebrows.

Neil blushed. _Ha._ That was confirmation right there whether he knew it or not.

“We’re not anything,” Neil denied. “What do you _think_ you know?”

“Oh nothing, just that you were all over him at that party. And to think me and Seth _just_ broke up,” she sighed dramatically, “you didn’t even give me a chance.”

Neil snorted. “I thought you told Renee you’d adopted me as a younger sibling and were ‘no longer interested.’”

“True,” she nodded. “And as your older sister I should be informed of any possible dating choices.”

He didn’t say anything for a while. Allison had money involved and wasn’t ready to let the topic go. She was about to press further when Neil responded.

“And… hypothetically… older sisters give advice right?”

She shrieked. She couldn’t help it! “Yes,” she said, tapping her feet excitedly in quick succession on the floor. “I am here to help.”

When Allison and Seth had first met, they kept it casual, a friends-with-benefits type of situation. Seth was quick to catch feelings, but Allison wasn’t so sure. She wanted to make sure Seth was a good guy and had some depth underneath his frat-bro exterior. It was a few months in that they went on their first date. But Seth was a gentleman; opening her car door, gifting her a red rose, asking for permission before kissing her goodnight (as if they hadn’t had sex in a bathroom stall the day before). She fell, and so began their highschool romance. It sucked that he hadn’t been able to come to Palmetto with their squad. But she wished him the best, and knew they’d reconnect someday with their respective partners at their side.

Allison had told Neil all this before, but now he wanted to know what it was exactly that pushed her from friends-with-benefits to wanting Seth to be her boyfriend. 

And suddenly she was already failing at her big sister role. She didn’t know what advice to give. It wasn’t that simple--

“I wanted to be his girlfriend since day one, it’s not like things suddenly changed. I just… well, not to sound pretentious, even though I Am A Goddess, but I wanted to make sure he was good enough for me. I wasn’t going to let him fuck around and hurt me down the line. I was taking things slow, but the feelings were always there.”

She frowned. “That doesn’t help, does it?”

Neil gave a little smile, “It was too good to be true, wasn’t it? I’ve never had certainty like that. I’m a fraud.”

Allison didn’t know what he was talking about.

***

Neil and Jean shared the same American Literature class. Neil had sat next to Jean on the first day, and Jean did nothing but write in his journal, copying notes from the board, even when Neil leaned over a whispered “Salut”.

Odds were Jean wasn’t _trying_ to play mind games with him, but it didn’t stop Neil from feeling that way.

His phone buzzed. He slouched further in his seat and adjusted his copy of _As I Lay Dying_ so he could seamlessly transfer his cell from his pocket to the pages of his book.

Jean had texted. _Find somewhere after class?_

_I have homework._

_No you don’t._

_Ok, fine. But I’m too tired._

Class ended and Neil packed up his stuff, planning to head straight back to the dorms. He was already pretty sure how his “relationship” with Jean was gunna end anyways. He wasn’t in the mood for one last hurrah. 

He didn’t get very far. The second he was out the door, Jean was on him and shoving him against the wall. 

“I know that you like me. I know that you want me. So _what_ is the hold up.”

“Why won’t you hold my hand?” Neil accused. 

Jean faltered.

“I like you,” Neil said. “You know that I like you. We’ve established that. What about you?”

“Obviously I like you too,” Jean said.

Neil shook his head. “Not like that.”

“I don’t want to go on dates or be ‘exclusive’ Josten. I want to make out with you until your legs are shaking and you can’t hold yourself up anymore, so I’ll lift you up off the ground and hold you by your thighs.”

“Good God,” he blushed. “Maybe tomorrow.” He slipped past Jean and ran all the way back to the dorms.

***

The _audacité_ of this boy. To imply, to _threaten_ that he didn’t want to do this anymore? They had just gotten started!

Jean knew what was expected of him; he was supposed to focus on his studies and keep a 4.0, but he had never been the studious type. He knew his time here and his time in America was limited, he didn’t see the point of trying to make lasting relationships, platonic or romantic. He just. wanted. to. have. fun. It was like the song said. People ask him “What are you gonna do with your life?” and he answers, _“I_ just wanna have fun.”

***

Allison cracked open her can of coke and took a sip, “You know my mom said if I came home right now she’d buy me anything I wanted for a year,”

“Quite the offer,” Renee said.

“Yeah, I told her to go fuck herself.”

Renee giggled. “Nice.”

“If your mom’s offering, I’ll take free tuition all four years for the college of my choice,” Dan said.

“Oh yeah!” Matt piped up, “tell her to get me a Pininfarina.”

“The fuck is that?” Neil asked, plopping down on the nearest sofa and accepting a sip of soda from Allison.

“It’s a type of car,” Matt explained. “Italian.”

“Not that I care about cars,” Jean sat down next to Neil, “but get a Bugatti. Italian’s are unreliable.”

“Actually, while Ettore Bugatti was a French car manufacturer, he was Italian-born.” Kevin said.

Aaron chuckled, most everyone else groaned.

“Whatever,” Jean mumbled.

Neil had tried several times over to get Jean to join his little band of misfits for a night. Not that he _cared_ or was putting _effort_ into anything, but Neil had been acting weird lately, and he hoped his appearance tonight could help smooth things over.

As it were, they weren’t too bad. Kevin was annoying, but Allison was pretty funny and Renee was so kind he was starting to get a little suspicious. Was he being buttered up for a reason that wouldn’t reveal itself until it was too late and Jean had been betrayed every way to Tuesday? 

He didn’t know, so for now he accepted her kind smiles and the way she asked about his family and wanted to know if he’d ever gone hiking and seen the sunrise.

***

“Fashionably late, as always, Minyard,” Allison called out.

Andrew grunted in response. They were in one of the study rooms. Matt had brought a cooler of sodas and Nicky had brought his portable speaker. Neil had gone out with Renee and Allison earlier that day to pick out different snacks. Currently, Neil was munching on pretzel sticks, and as Andrew came in he grabbed a bag of chocolate and peanut butter drizzled popcorn from the table. 

There were only two spots open, and one of them was next to Neil (Jean had gotten up and moved closer to Renee). Neil hoped Andrew would sit next to him. They’d never gotten to finish their conversation on the likelihood of an alien takeover in the next thirty years.

It was subtle, but there was a slight frown on Aaron’s face when Andrew sat down on Neil’s right. To be completely honest, Neil never really understood anything Aaron did. He was a weird guy.

“So. Big news,” Nicky announced. 

“You have ‘big news’ every other day Hemmick,” Allison said, “And it’s always the same! _‘I think this guy from my church is **super** cute,’ ‘I flirted with the guy at the coffee shop this morning what if he’s the love of my life?’”_

 _“‘There’s a guy in my class who likes TWICE, that **must** mean we’re soulmates,’”_ Dan chimed in with a laugh.

“That _is_ like the opposite of a red flag you know. He clearly has great taste,” Nicky grinned wolfishly, “which is _exactly_ why he would be interested in me.

“But this isn’t about him! This is about _Erik,”_ Nicky sighed, staring wistfully off into the distance.

“Who’s Erik?” Matt asked.

“I don’t know!” Nicky cried, “I’ve kind of been too scared to talk to him. He’s in my German class, and he speaks it _perfectly_ I swear. His accent is just *chef’s kiss* you guys, it makes me melt _every_ time. Oh my god, he’s so hot.”

“German. The language of love,” Jean said sarcastically.

Neil let out a chuckle. He was glad Jean was here tonight, and he hoped he would keep coming even after they ‘broke up’ or whatever you call it when two people who weren’t dating decided to stop hooking up.

Nights like these were quickly becoming some of Neil’s favorites. No alcohol or partying, just him and his friends spread out across a couple couches and armchairs, drinking soda and eating gas station snacks and candies. As the hours passed, him and Matt shared a bag of gummy bears and he fought harder to stave off any yawns.

Conversations lulled. Andrew nudged Neil’s shoulder and jerked his head up. _The roof._ Neil nodded once and stood up. “Um, I’m gunna head up,” he said. Andrew followed him out.

Jean watched him go.

It was always so quiet up here. There weren’t any main roads off of the Tower, and without any traffic silence was easy to come by. Andrew lit up next to him and handed a cigarette over. “Thanks,” Neil said.

“Shut up,” Andrew said.

They stayed up there, mostly in silence, until Neil found himself dozing on Andrew’s shoulder. He sat up. It was time to turn in. They did have school the day after all. 

***

He pulled the blankets up to his chin. Before he fell asleep again, he whispered Jean’s name into the darkness. He could see Jean’s bunk, and the lump his body created underneath the blankets. They ruffled as Jean turned to face him. “Yeah,” Jean whispered back.

“I can’t do it. I can’t have a casual relationship like you can.”

“I know,” Jean said, “It’s okay.”

“We’re still friends?”

“I guess,” he grumbled.

Neil smiled. “Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so Yeah. Jean/Neil came and went... I love that Neil is Demi, and he's Demi in all my fics so it was kind of weird posting chapter 5 with no explanation, but hopefully this cleared things up xD but i do ship him with literally everyonee and since this is my self-indulgent fic ofc i had to have all 3 relationships but you can see now that andreil is endgame! though even now it's going to take some time to get there...


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